Showing the world
by starmaker08
Summary: Kel is unfairly kicked out of page training after her probationary year. Even though the path of knighthood has been forbidden for her, she is determined to become a warrior...and swears it, not knowing that the gods are listening.
1. A shattered dream, a shattered lake

Kel gulped nervously as she slowly made her way to Lord Wyldon's office.

'I am a lake,' she thought, 'a smooth, undisturbed lake. Nothing will make me move. I cannot move. I am a lake. I do not ripple; nothing inside my shows.' Finally, she reached the office, and after hesitating a fraction of a moment, she knocked loudly.

"Enter." Came the curt reply. Kel gently eased the door open, then walked over to her training master, who looked up from his work as she entered. "Mindelan, sit down." Kel hurriedly obeyed, looking in his eyes, trying to foretell what would come next. Lord Wyldon returned her star for a minute, then sighed.

"Mindelan, you have shown surprising strength and bravery over this passed year. But, you've also caused quite a bit of trouble."His eyes were cold. "You began all of those fight, no, do not say that you fell down. Also, your body has begun to change and you will find it a little more difficult to continue. I'm still not convinced that you will be able to keep up with the boys during page years, squire years, and of course, knighthood. Soon, you will be wanting to marry, bear children and raise them in a large fief. If you become a knight, that will not be possible. You will be too busy with your duties to the King to be with your children all the time. That is a very big reason why women do not become knights. Therefore, you will not be permitted to continue your training next year. I am not allowing you to return."

Kel simply sat there for an instant, her mind trying to process the largest speech she had ever heard Lord Wyldon make. Her emotions were starting to create turmoil as she registered his meaning. When Kel felt her mask start to slip, she knew that in order to make a dignified exit, she had to make her escape now. Rising, she made a short bow, and spoke in a voise that was much calmer then she felt.

"Very well, My Lord. When am I expected to leave?" Lord Wyldon had already returned to his paperwork, and without even glancing up, her said,

"Be gone by tomorrow morning." Kel made one last bow, then departed.

* ******

She started towards her room, the turned, and went to Neal's instead. Without knocking, opened the door, knowing that she would find Faleron, Cleon, Prince Roald, Seaver, Esmond, Merric and Neal all there.

As she entered, they all turned to look at her, waiting to hear what had passed. Kel opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She swallowed, then tried again.

"I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, so I guess this is goodbye for a long time."

Chaos erupted in the small room. Neal, Cleon, and Merric were all shouting whilst the others simply sat there. Kel waited for the outburst to die down. When her friends were quiet again, she recounted what had happened. When she had finished, Neal was furious, but his eyes were becoming filled with unshed tears.

After awhile, Kel couldn't stand it anymore. Telling her friends the time that she was leaving, she hastily left for her own room.

Once there, Kel flung herself onto her bed. Her once calm lake shattered, and she sobbed her heart out.

*******

When Kel had finished, she tiredly sat up and attempted to rub the redness from her eyes. She glanced up and saw her weapons shelf, all useless to her now.

'No!' Kel thought angrily. 'I'll become a warrior. I will! I'll show the world, prove that girls are just as good as boys…that I'm even better then boys!' Then, she spoke outloud.

"I swear it."


	2. A goddess's fury, and friend's tears

The Great Goddess Mother walked quickly to the Gran Court. Anyone who couldn't see her face would say that she was walking calmly; that she was at ease and nothing was bothering. One who saw her face, on the other hand, would know differently. Her full, blood red lips were pulled down into a horrible scowl, making her breathtakingly beautiful face seem terrifying. Her luminescent green eyes were flashing with rage. As she neared the huge gold door, she hastened her pace so that she was almost running. Reaching the door, she wrenched it open, much to the shock of the few gods around her.

The goddess stormed in, the air rippling behind her like a cape, showing its respect. All of the gods in the Grand Courtroom were shocked; The Great Goddess Mother rarely lost her temper this way, nor did she ever burst in on the Grand Court. Upon seeing her, the gods and goddesses were afraid, they could see the fury in her face, and they were afraid. The only god who did not tremble at the sight of her and take a step back was her brother. Mithros, The Great God of the Sun frowned at the sight of his sister, and at the scene she had caused.

"_**What is the meaning of this, sister? What is the reason for which you have come?" **_Mithros bellowed in his thundering voice. _**"Explain yourself!"**_

"_Do not take that tone with me, brother." _The Great Goddess Mother snapped. "_Try to remember that you have no authority over me. As for why I am here, it is because I wish to know why. Why did you let Keladry of Mindelan be refused the post of Knighthood? It is your turn to explain brother! I will not allow this to stand. YOU will deal with this now, brother."_ Her voice was as cold as ice, and even Mithros had to fight the urge to wince when he heard it. He sighed, and rubbed his eyes with his hand.

_**"Calm yourself, sister. I am perfectly aware of what Wyldon had done. I cannot say that I am pleased with him, yet I do agree with him in more ways then one."**_ At this, his sister's temper went over the edge.

"_AGREE WITH HIM! AGREE WITH HIM, DO YOU BROTHER? AND WHY IS THAT?"_

Gods and goddesses were now attempting to subtly leave, having no desire to take part in one of the rare, yet infamous arguments of the Great God and Goddess. Mithros's temper was now rising to boiling point as well.

_**"Yes, I agree with him! Keladry WILL NOT have your help in this matter! Think of how many times you aided you Chosen One when SHE got into trouble on her path to knighthood! Without your help, Keladry will perish. If she does not follow knighthood, she will be safe. She is a child! A strong child, I surrender, but still a child! She will not succeed in this! This path is not the one for her!"**_

The Great Goddess Mother was silent for a moment, but everyone who was there could see that Mithros was about to get it. The Great Goddess was simply working it up, waiting for just the right words to break her brother. At last, she found them.

_"Are you telling me,"___she said in a quiet voice that was none-the less filled with rage and authority, "_that Keladry is not strong enough? Yes, you do not care if it is a weak man going for his shield that will be killed. He is a man, made to do these things. But if it is a woman, then you put your foot down? WOMEN ARE JUST AS STRONG MITHROS! ALSO, I DID NOTHING FOR ALANNA OTHER THEN GIVE HER A PUSH In THE RIGHT DIRECTION, SOME ADVICE, AND THE EMBER STONE! If you have a problem with Keladry or simply with the idea of lady knights, then I suggest you just get used to the idea; you will be seeing many more lady knights if I have anything to do with it!"_

Mithros was about to speak, his mouth opening in outrage, but his sister cut him off once again.

_"Furthermore, you have not seen the last of Keladry of Mindelan! She will surprise you, and when she rubs it right into your face, only then will I forgive you enough to talk to you, brother! Until then, you and I are not in the least family!"_

With that finish to her mind-blowing speech, The Great Mother Goddess spun around, marched from the room, and the door slammed shut in her wake.

*********

Kel carried the rest of her bags down to the courtyard and put them in the care of a servant while she settled some things. Entering the stables, she quickly made her way to Peachblossom's stall. There, Kel quietly went over to the frisky gelding who was watching her warily out of the corner of his eye.

"I'll miss you, Peachblossom. But for me, please try to behave for your next rider! I don't want you to be sent to work as a plough horse, or worse, for meat. Please try to be friendly." The huge horse snorted and stomped his feet, then went to Kel and gently blew on her face.

"I'll take care of him." Kel whirled around to see Daine leaning against the stall door. 'How long had she been there?' Kell wondered. Then she spoke.

"Will you?" Daine nodded.

"I'll buy him, and make sure he's exercised, fed properly, and, well, taken care of. I know it's hard for you to leave him behind. No, don't go thanking me, you'll ruin the moment. I'm doing this for him too, you understand. I want to see him as a plough horse or on someone's plate just about as much as you do." Kel nodded, then she opened her mouth to speak, but Daine glared at her until Kel smiled and closed her mouth. Suddenly, Daine leapt forward and gave Kel a quick hug, and whispered to her, "Goddess bless," then turned and left. Kel gently shook her head and went back to saying goodbye to Peachblossom.

When she finally left the stables, she found all of her friends waiting in the courtyard. Neal was the first to speak.

"After you left last night," he began, "we all stayed and talked it out. We decided that if we pooled together all of our savings we could buy you something special this morning at the market. And no, you are going to accept this even if we have to brainwash you to do so. So," Neal shrugged, "here it is." He beckoned to Merric, who was hiding something behind his back. He brought his hand forward to reveal something covered in a blanket. Then, with a flourish, Clean and Faleron whipped the blanket off, and Kel gasped.

There, lying in Merric's hands was the most beautiful sword Kel had ever seen. Its blade long and slender, a weapon of grace, yet it was not silver, but the palest shade of blue imaginable. The hilt had streaks of silver running through it, and right in the middle, Kel could see a shining sapphire. Kel gaped at it for many minutes, until Neal sighed dramatically and lifted her hands for her. Grinning, Merric set the sword in Kel/Neal's hand. Now, at a closer angle, Kel could see that words had been carefully carved into the blade.

_Never give up, always have hope._

Upon reading it, Kel felt her eyes fill up. Turning, she threw her arms around all of the boys at once, enveloping them in a gigantic hug. Instead of pulling away, like Kel had expected them to, they all answered with hugs of their own. After a minute, Kel pulled away to wipe her eyes.

"What's her name?" Clean asked, gesturing to the sword. Kel pondered for a moment, then took her weapon and quickly cut her finger with it.

"I dub thee Hope." Everyone agreed with the name. Then, Kel knew that she had to go. She said goodbye to everyone in turn, saving Neal for last. When she got to her best friend, Kel was surprised to find that his eyes were as red and puffy as hers felt. Neal flung his arms around her and pulled Kel close.

"If you die, or never come back, or even miss my ordeal, I will not be very pleased with you," he whispered in her ear. Kel gave a watery chuckle, then gently loosened his arms from around her back.

Looking at each one of them, Kel tried to memorize their faces.

"I will come back, and I'll see you all again. So, just think of it as me on a very long vacation. You better pass your page tests; if you don't, I better know why. Don't let Joren and his cronies bully anyone, keep inviting people to join the study group. Most importantly, especially you Neal, eat your vegetables!" Her friends all grinned and looked at each other, then chorused,

"Yes mother!" Kel smiled then turned around, and walked out of the city's gates. Neal was openly crying now, as were the others, but Kel didn't look back.


	3. A blessed sword, and a choice

Kel heard the massive _thud_ as the Palace Gate closed behind her. As soon as it did, Kel whirled around to face the gate that had always been open to her, always welcoming her home_. 'It isn't my home anymore'_ Kel had to remind herself sharply. Mindelan was her home, and it would be forever now. Kel gave a long sigh then turned and made her way to the carriage that was waiting for her a few yards down the Great Road. When she was halfway there, the carriage door opened, and Ilane of Mindelan stepped out. Her face was emotionless, but her eyes held deep pity and sympathy. Her arms opened wide, and Kel suddenly felt like the young girl she really was. She picked up her pace, until she was sprinting and flew into her mother's waiting arms. There, she buried her head in Ilane's shoulder, desperately fighting off the tears.

"It's going to be alright, Kel. Everything is going to be fine." Ilane cooed to her youngest daughter. When she fell silent, a deeper, baritone voice spoke.

"Your mother's right, my girl. You tried, and it's not your fault that Lord Wyldon is a sexist pig." Kel choked back a giggle, and then turned to hug her father, Baron Piers of Mindelan. He returned the hug fiercely before gently pulling away. He looked his daughter up and down and exclaimed,

"Look at you! I haven't seen you for a year, one year! And here you are looking so grown up!" Kel was about to grin, then quickly hid it behind her emotionless mask. Her mother noted this, and felt proud that Kel still could hide emotions as well as any Yamani. Ilane felt an idea hit her as soon as she thought of the Yamanis.

"Kel," she spoke hesitantly, "you could return to the Yamani Isles and ask the Emperor to allow you to train as a Yamani knight. I know that it's not the same but…" Ilane trailed off, for her daughter was slowly shaking her head.

"No. Knighthood is now off limits for me. If I just keep trying, all just be rejected over and over again. Knighthood is simply not for me. " Kel's parents were confused; they knew that all Kel wanted to do was learn how to fight, but now she was refusing her few chances of fighting.

"Alright then," Piers said cautiously, "you're going to return home with us then?" Kel nodded, and walked towards the carriage. She opened the door without waiting for the footmen, and got in. Piers and Ilane looked at each other, shrugged, then followed Kel.

As the carriage took off down the Great Road, Kel only looked out the window once to see the shadow of the palace growing smaller, and smaller.

_'No longer my home'_

* *****

Piers and Ilane tried to coax Kel to talk with them on their way to Mindelan by asking questions, but all of Kels answers were short and to the point. Eventually, her parents grew silent, giving up any chance of conversations.

Kel stared straight ahead, thinking intently. Her thoughts all focused on her friend's goodbyes, and their gift. Thinking of her beautiful new sword, Kel almost smiled. _'With Hope, I can easily still practice fighting. And when no one, no man or woman, can beat me, only then will I return to Corus, and I'll show everyone what a mistake Lord Wyldon and the King made. No one will recognize me, for no one will have seen me since I left. They'll all wonder '_Who is that warrior maiden?'_ Then I'll reveal Hope to all of my friends, and they'll realize that it's me. They'll all shout and laugh, causing Lord Wyldon to come over and Neal will grandly introduce me. Ohhh, Lord Wyldon will be so surprised, he and the King will be sorry that they don't have ME fighting for the crown. I'll rub it in their face. I'll…_The wiz of an arrow snapped Kel out of her daydream. She quickly sat up straight, looking at her parents and finding them snapping to attention as well. A footman jumped down and yelled through the window.

"Bandits! Take cover!" He managed to get those words out before and arrow flew out of the trees and entered his back. The footman staggered forward, then fell to the ground. Men dressed all in black were now streaming out of the forest, swords in their hand. Quickly, the few guards the Kel's parents had brought with them were overthrown. With them gone, the bandits started slowly advancing the carriage. Ilane and Piers were now drawing their weapons, but they knew that they could not win. Ilane looked around frantically and spotted a window which was now free of glass. Through the window, she could see that no bandits were on that side. She made a choice quickly, and pushed Kel through that window. Kel's training took over and she slapped the ground as she fell, making sure that she fell unhurt. She looked up to the carriage and saw her mother's lips moving silently. Kel quickly figures out what Ilane was saying.

"Run!" Kel shook her head, but her mother was insistent. Suddenly bandits took hold of her mother and jerked her out of the carriage. Ilane gave one last pleading look at her youngest daughter before being dragged out of Kel's sight. Kel decide to honour her mother, and ran into the woods.

She hid in the bushed, and watched the bandits closely. They searched Ilane and Piers belonging, and then hers. Kel thanked the gods that she had kept her sword on her belt, but then bit her tongue as a bandit gave her mother a backhanded blow. Piers reacted fiercely, struggling against his holders and shouting curses. The bandit that seemed to be in control slowly walked over to him. He stared at Kel's father for a minute before brutally stabbing him in the chest.

Kel could only watch in horror as she watched her father crumple to the ground. Ilane was shrieking in rage. The bandits laughed at her pain and sadness, then they grew tired of her as well. Ilane joined her husband on the ground, blood pooling from a wound on her left shoulder. Kel stared at her parents' bodies, shocked that they could be so badly injured in so little time. The bandits took all of the bags and ran into the woods, leaving the road quiet, and bloody.

* *****

Kel deserted her hiding place and ran to her parents. Tears running silently down her cheeks, she knelt down in the dirt. She hastily checked her mother's pulse, and started sobbing when she found none. She ran her fingers through her mother's hair, cupped her cheeks and begged her to come back. But Ilane didn't answer. Her voice was gone, as was her life. Kel then checked her father, but didn't even need to feel for a pulse to know that he was gone too. His eyes were open, but unseeing. Blood no longer flowed for the wound on his chest. Kel cried out a sound so filled with pain and suffering that all the animals nearby ran away from the sound. And there Kel sat for hours weeping bitterly, letting out her hatred for the world. When she eventually faced the fact that she was all alone on a road filled with ghosts, Kel stood up. She backed away from her parents bodies, staring at them intensely, burning their faces into her memory. Then, she ran.

She sprinted through the forest, not caring about the branches as they ripped her clothes, tangled themselves in her hair and cut her skin. When she fell down, she hauled herself up again and continued. It was not until that her breath was ragged in her chest, and that she found that her legs could not carry her any longer did she fall down, and stay down. There, Kel curled up into a ball, and sobbed her heart out until she fell into a deep sleep.

******

_Kel found herself in an ocean of mist, not able to see past a foot. The mist curled around her feet and hands, making it seem as if she was shackled. Then, a shadowy shape appeared near her, and was coming even closer. Kel look curiously at the shape until she could make out the face. Kel finally saw the stranger clearly and gasped. The woman before was breathtakingly beautiful. She had full red lips that rivalled bloods own colour. Her green eyes were a shade of green that would make any emerald seem dull._

_"Who are your?" Kel asked in awe. At her question, the woman smiled, and for some reason it sent shivers down Kel's spine._

_"Can you not guess, Keladry of Mindelan?" Her voice was cold, but not with fury, it was simply her voice. Kel became very confused when her mind registered the woman's question._

_"I'm sorry, should I?" _

_"It is not something to be ashamed of, Keladry, that you do know me. You have never seen me before, though you have heard of me many times and even sent a prayer to me every once in a while. Think hard." Kel thought, but nothing came to mind. Then,_

_"A prayer to you? But I only do that to gods and you can't be…" Kel trailed off, then spoke again. "Great Mother Goddess." She knelt down in respect, but the Great Mother Goddess motioned for her to rise._

_"Do not kneel to me Keladry, I am here to help you." Kel was now very confused._

_"Why? If you let me be kicked out of page training, why do you want to help me now?" she bit her tongue right after and bowed again, shamed at her rudeness. When the Goddess said nothing, Kel looked up through her bangs. The Great Goddess Mother was staring at her with a look of sadness in her eyes._

_"It was not my decision to have you kicked out, Keladry. My brother saw it coming, but he did nothing to stop it. I tried to persuade him, but he refused. That is why I help you now. I know what he did is not right. You and I can prove that to him."_

_"But how are you going to help me? How can you help me?"_

_"I see you have a new sword. May I see it?" Kel quickly took Hope out of it's scabbard and hand it, hilt first, to The Goddess, who looked it over._

_"This is not a Goddess made sword, that I could tell right away," The Great Goddess Mother finally said, "But it will be a Goddess blessed sword." With that, Hope began to slow a steadily brighter blue, becoming so bright that Kel had to close her eyes as to not become blind. It seemed like she had her eyes shut for years, but eventually, the light dimmed, and Kel was able to open her eyes again. Hope was still lying in the Goddess's hands, looking the same as ever. Hope was then held out, and Kel timidly took it. _

_"Thank you." Kel said uncertainly. The Great Goddess Mother just laughed._

_"You do not even know what I did. Nor will you until the sword feels you need to know. Also, I give you this." The Goddess also held out a necklace that Kel recognized at once. It was a single circle made of bronze, but it had a mark on it, a mark in the shape of single star. It had been Ilane's, and Kel had never seen her mother without it._

_"To remember your parents by. Do not mourn them for too long. They died together, that's what they wanted. Keep this so you will never forget them, but try to forget how they died." Kel nodded mutely, and took the necklace, placing it around her neck. Then, the mist began to thicken. The Goddess was disappearing. "Goodbye, my daughter." Then, everything was white._

_******_

Kel sat up, her body sweating tremendously. The dream had been so vivid that Kel was positive that it was true. Her hand moves towards her neck, and there Kel finds the necklace, and she knows that it was no dream.

Kel pushed all thoughts of her parents and their death to the back of her mind, and gets up. She looks around, and seeing no trace of the way from which she came, starts moving in a direction that she hopes takes her the opposite way of the Great Road. As she walked, she said out loud.

"The Goddess is right. No use thinking about things that can't be changed. It's better thinking of the things that can change. Like me, I'll change. I have to. It's time to move on."


	4. A surviving flag, a whispered fight

Neal sat with his friends at their usual place in the Mess Hall, picking at his food. His plate did have vegetables on it, quite a few, but it just wasn't the same with Kel using her commander voice, ordering him to eat them. Kel, Neal's spirit sunk even farther when he thought of his best friend. Neal couldn't believe the rage that had filled him when Kel had told their group of friends that she wasn't allowed to return. But even as he felt that anger, he had also felt resignation. No one could change the Stump's decision now, except the King, and King Jonathon was busy with political affairs. And when she had left, Neal felt an emptiness creep up inside him, and he knew that life at the palace would never be the same. Palace new showed that Neal wasn't the only one angry. Servants talked in whispers of how Alanna the Lioness was now threatening to leave Tortall for good. And if she left, as would her husband and children. Daine too was upset, and the animals were all rebelling against nobles. It was a dangerous idea to anger the Wildmage, for everyone knew that Tortall's most powerful sorcerer, Numair, would side with her. If they both left, Tortall would feel the loss.

The sound of laughing interrupted Neal's train of thought, and his head whipped up to see Joren's smirk as him and his cronies walked by their table. Neal could see Merric's fists tightening, barely restraining him, and even Roald was gripping the table so hard that his knuckles were turning white, but no one moved.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the Lump is finally gone. Thank Mithros," Joren sneered. "Everyone knew that Lord Wyldon wouldn't let her star, Queenscove, you and your little friends were the only ones who kept your hopes up. Now, your dreams are crushed! Poor baby!" Neal couldn't stand it anymore. He jumped from his seat and was about to throw himself at Joren, but a set of warm, strong hands landing on his shoulders stopped him. He looked up, murder evident in his eyes, to see the scowling face of his father. Oddly enough, Duke Baird of Queenscove wasn't scowling at his son, but at the young men in front of him.

"That is quite enough, Joren of Stonemountian. Return to your table." Neal's father's voice was deathly quiet. Joren glared, but gave a mocking bow, and left with his friends. Neal looked up at his father, and then yanked out of his grip.

"You didn't have to stop me," He muttered so only his father could here. Duke Baird gave his son at sympathetic look, then replied.

"Yes, I did. Lord Wyldon would have punished you, not Joren, and Kel wouldn't want you to do this in public." Neal grumbled, and his father walked off. But he turned around, and called back. "Oh, and Neal?" Neal looked at his father. "Make sure that if your friends come to the infirmary, you're with them. I'm only going to healing those who were Kel's friends!"

With that, Duke Baird walked away, leaving his son staring open mouthed at his back. Neal's friends stared in shock as Neal returned to their table, grinning like a drunkard.

"What was that all about?" Seaver finally asked. Neal's grin simply widened.

"Father's rebelling against the King too!" Faleron and Cleon both whooped, while the others all smiled.

Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing the King. Everyone hastily stood, Neal's group a little slower then the others. King Jonathon's face was pale, and he looked as if his emotions were balancing between fury, and sadness. He walked up to the High table where Lord Wyldon sat, then turned to face the pages and the few squires that were not off with their Knight Masters.

"I know that many of you are angry with me," he began, his voice very quiet, nothing like the regal, commanding voice everyone knew, "I'm angry with myself now too." Everyone was now puzzled, and was looking at their King with confused expressions. The King cleared his throat, then continued.

"A traveling party just came back from the King's road with terrible news. They found a carriage overturned, with dead bodies around it. Everything around it was burning, a sign that it was the group of bandits that have been plaguing us for a while now. The bodies were burned past recognition, but one flag was not." He looked at all the pages, his eyes resting on the table he had seen Kel sit many times. He took a deep breath, and braced himself for war.

"The flag bore the Mindelan crest. There were no survivors."

Silence enveloped the room, then came an uproar. Everyone was screaming, except for Neal. Neal sunk to the ground, his legs giving away. He looked up and saw his friends looking at him in horror, but he didn't care. '_Kel,'_ he thought, '_you're gone.'_

******

Kel wandered the forest, passing tree after tree. The forest was thickening, something Kel knew meant that she was getting deeper into the wilderness, enhancing her chances of getting lost, but getting lost was what Kel wanted. She wanted to roam for a while, then find civilisation somewhere, and make her home there. But as she walked further, and further, she found more flaws with this plan. She had no food with her, no extra clothing, no money, nothing.

"Well then, I guess I'll just become a herbivore." She said out loud, looking doubtfully at the plants that surrounded her. "But which one are poison, and which ones aren't?" Kel continued to mutter to herself, enjoying the sound of something human among the sounds of nature.

Finally, when her legs could walk no more, Kel sank to the found, leaning her back against an oak tree behind her. Her eyes fluttered close, and Kel was allowing herself to get a tad of rest. She was just sinking into oblivion, when a twig snapped.

Kel's eyes shot open, and she jumped to her feet. Drawing her sword, her eyes swept the forest, taking in everything, searching for any signs of movement. Even when she found none, Kel did not drop her guard. She stayed perfectly still, ignoring the dull ache beginning to form in her calves from staying bent low to the ground.

After what seemed to Kel like hours, she straightened her body, reluctantly admitting that she must have imagined it, or that it was simply a small animal or a leaf. She returned to her previous spot, but this time kept her eyes open, only resting her legs, not her mind. Yet her plan failed when her eyes drooped down, and she fell into a deep sleep. Only a few minutes after this happened, did two figures that had been standing motionless in the foliage walk towards her.

******

The two figures slowly advanced on the sleeping form. Their muscles were tensed, ready to run at any moment, ready to react immediately if Kel woke up. They looked down at Kel, staring at her for a few moments, taking in every detail. Then, as if on signal, they both got up and walked away. They walked a short distance, only far enough so that Kel wouldn't here them, and then they began to talk in hushed whispers.

"It's just a little girl! She can't be more then twelve!" One said. The other shook his head quickly.

"She might be just a little girl, but she had a powerful look sword with her." His friend just shook this off.

"A sword which she most likely doesn't even know how to use, Taine! She probably just took it with her to scare off any bandits!" But his companion was persistent.

"_Most likely_ doesn't know how to use. _Probably_ just took it with her to scare off bandits. For all we know, she might be trained Shang, Brinan! I say that we get rid of her." His friend, Brinan, looked outraged

"Get rid of her? And how do you plan to do that, pray tell? Kill her? We should take her with us!"

"Out of the question! How about we just leave her here, and watch her. But if she comes any closer to the camp, we knock her out and dump her on the side of the road. Though killing her would be much easier."

The two continued to fight, their word never going any higher then a whisper, so that anyone in hearing distance would simply think it the wind. Finally, Brinan spoke in his full voice, ignoring the gestures Taine was making to be quiet.

"Well, I'm just going to go and wake her up, and ask her what she thinks we should do with her." With that, he ran off in the Kel's direction. Taine cursed quietly, then ran after him.

The two men sped through the forest, until they came upon the sleeping Kel. Brinan walked towards her and reached out a hand to shake her shoulder. Just as his hand was about to come in contact with her, Kel's eyes snapped open.


	5. A puzzle, and a Noble

Mithros rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying to overcome the stress that hung over him like a rain cloud, always threatening to overflow. His thoughts were directed at his sister. He had never seen her that angry in all the centuries that they had ruled here together. They had gotten into small fights, yes, but nothing that big, and never had she threatened him. And all over that Keladry girl.

Mithros groaned as his thoughts turned to Keladry of Mindelan. He knew that she was strong, stubborn, and loyal enough to become a knight of the Realm of Tortall, but he just couldn't see it. Usually, these things were clear to him, as he discussed with the Chamber of Ordeal quite often about who would make a good Knight, and who wouldn't, but they were both at wit's end with Keladry. She paid attention in class, did whatever was asked of her without complaint, yet she fought those boys continuously, never giving up. Normally, Mithros would have been amused by this, but the fact that Keladry was doing this to change the hazing, something Mithros had started, disturbed him to no end.

Keladry was, in Mithros' mind, a puzzle. Something that needs to be shifted and played with for a while before being finished and being perfected. Something that took time and patience, something that seemed like it was out to get you when a certain piece doesn't seem to fit anywhere. But, in Keladry's case, there was a piece missing.

*************************************************************************************

Brinan's eyes widened in surprise. Kel used this to her advantage. Brinan didn't even have time to react before Kel sent him sprawling to the ground in a flip that she had learned to the Yamani Isles. Taine jumped forward to help his friend, but Brinan was already getting up, staring at Kel who was crouched low to the ground in a fighting stance, her feet spaced in perfect balance and her sword out, the tip pointing at Briana and Taine.

Taine was glaring at Kel, while Briana simply held his arms up in the air.

"We don't mean you any harm!" he spoke quickly, but clearly in Common. Kel didn't move from her position, but kept her eyes on Brinan and Taine and her muscles tense. Brinan sighed, and then tried again.

"Please, we only wished to talk to you. My name is Brinan, and this is Taine. We live in a…village, nearby." Kel's eyes narrowed at the pause that Brinan had made before saying where they lived.

'_That means he's lying.' _ Kel thought. She still didn't trust these men, and had no intention of putting down her guard.

Brinan saw her stare turn into a glare, and was a little relived to see a reaction, good or bad, on this young girl's face that looked as still as stone.

"We only want to know what a young girl like you is doing in the forest all alone, far from any city or village." At Brinan's words, Kel saw an opening, and decided to use it. She began to speak.

"No villages nearby? But you just said that you lived in a village close by." Brinan cursed under his breath, amazed that this girl had caught that lie so quickly. But Kel wasn't finished. "That's alright. I don't need to know where you live. I didn't ask to know. You keep your secrets, and I'll keep mine. Simple as that, now would you mind backing off a bit? I'd prefer to leave you and be on my way." Brinan stepped back automatically, but Taine stood his ground.

"Where did you get that sword?" he demanded, "It looks expensive, and therefore you have enough money to go buy a room in an inn, yet you decide to sleep under a tree."

"It was a gift," Kel retorted, "and no, I don't have any money. Now, move off!" Taine still didn't move, and now Brinan walked up and put a hand on Taine's shoulder.

"Taine, come on. We'll leave now. She'll be fine." But Taine shrugged the hand off, and kept looking at Kel, who gave him eye for eye.

"She'll be fine, will she? A little girl who can't be more then 11 is alone in the woods where she could be easy prey for bandits or wild animals, and you say that she'll be _alright?_ No. Here's the thing, girly," Kel's eyes narrowed as Taine continued his rant, "we're going to walk you to the edge of the forest, and set you on your way. You're going to go back to your home, and give your parents a long talking to about leaving you alone, or maybe they meant for you to get lost, I could see why, but if it's your parents forgetfulness that made you our problem, then I will personally tell your parents that they are…" Taine was forced to stop when he found a very sharp blade pointed at him, the point directly under his chin, and the steel cold against his neck. Taine had been hoping to get her to try to yell at him, but the emotionless mask that he was facing now scared him more then any words that could be yelled. Kel's eyes were freezing, and she was staring evenly at Taine with a look that could kill.

"Say one more thing about my parents," Kel said in a deathly quiet voice, "and I swear by the goddess, nothing will stop me from taking this sword and running it through your throat." The three of them stayed in that position for what seemed like hours to Kel; her holding the upper hand, with Brinan in the back, his stance giving away his worry and confusion, and Taine, defiance evident everywhere in his face, but there was also confusion, and as Kel watched, understanding filled his eyes.

"You and your family were attacked by bandits, weren't you?" Kel stiffened, but Taine went one, speaking in a soft tone. "Your parents told you to run, which you did, but not before seeing your parents killed. By the time you got over your shock, the bandits were gone, so you grabbed your late father's sword, and plunged into the woods in hopes of finding the bandits and settling the score." Brinan was about to voice his confusion, when Taine spoke without turning. "I think that it was her family that we just saw burning."

Kel made no move, but then answered Taine's assumptions. "Partly yes, partly no."

"Which part is right, and which isn't?" Taine asked. But before Kel could answer, Brinan stepped foreword.

"You and your family were attacked by bandits," he said slowly, "and your parents were killed, but that's your sword, and your not here to find the bandits, but to run away. Am I right?" Both men now looked at Kel with intensity that she found uncomfortable, but Kel nodded her head once, then relaxed her position and stood up. Brinan smiled, and held out his hand.

"The name's Brinan," he said as Kel hesitantly took his large hand with her small one.

"Mine's Kel." Brinan smiled again and they both turned to Taine, who simply nodded and said,

"Taine." Brinan let out the breath that he hadn't realized that he had been holding. For a moment, he had been scared that Taine was going to be rude and uncaring towards Kel, but know he knew that Taine was simply going to be Taine. Brinan then turned to Kel.

"Well Kel, seeing that you're a little young to be in the forest all alone, and that you and Taine have become such good friends," Kel snorted, and Taine's eyes gave the slightest roll, "how about coming with us?" Kel considered it for a moment, then gave her consent.

"Just one minute," Taine interrupted, "if she's coming with us, can I at least talk normally?" Kel looked from Brinan, who had started to laugh, to Taine, who was standing impassive, pointedly ignoring his friend's behaviour.

"Go ahead Taine." Brinan chuckled, and then explained to Kel. "Taine and I have been living in the forest for quite a while, and Taine prefers the forest way of talking to a noble's way." Something in what he said made Kel stop dead in her tracks. Brinan and Taine kept walking, and then realized that she wasn't following and turned around to face her.

"_A noble's way of talking?_" Kel demanded. "Does that mean that you two are nobles?" Taine sighed and looked at Brinan.

"Now ya'v gawn an' done it!" he complained. Brinan also sighed, but more out of resignation then annoyance. He then directed his words to Kel.

"We're nobles, yes, but nobles that Tortall has all but forgotten." Kels' forehead creased in confusion, resulting in Brinan to continue. He walked towards a fallen log, sat down, and then motioned For Kel to sit down next to him. Once she had, he continued.

"Have you ever heard of Lord Aramian of Ocean's Crown?"


	6. A Defied King, and a Single Crown

Neal sat on his bed, his head in between his knees, trying so hard to forget, but finding it impossible. Kel's face kept appearing in his mind; her sweet, innocent, face with dreamers' eyes that were windows towards her soft side that she so rarely showed. Kel who had beaten him in anything. Kel who had stood up for her friends and complete strangers if they weren't being treated fairly. Kel, who he had shown around the castle, showed her the ropes of everything. Gone. Never coming back. Neal groaned and threw himself back, letting his head hit the headboard, loving the stinging pain that entered his head. He heard pounding on his door, but he didn't care. Kel would never open that door again.

Suddenly, the door banged open, amethyst mist sparkling around the edges, and his father sailed in.

"Thank you, Alanna," Duke Baird stated, then marched up to his son. Baird laid a comforting hand on Neal's shoulder, and looked down into his son's eyes. Baird was startled to see that there were no shining emeralds in his son's eyes, only a dull green.

Neal looked up at his father, saw the caring and sympathy in his face, and broke down. He clutched his fathers shoulder, sobbing into his father's shirt and Baird simply stoke his head, whispering soothing words, not trying to calm him down, but letting him cry it out.

Merric, Faleron, Cleon, Roald, Seaver, and Esmund all hesitantly stepped into the room, awed by the fact that Neal, the cold, supposedly uncaring Neal, was sobbing his heart out. But they were also relieved that Neal was finally letting it out after locking himself in his room for hours on end. They all walked to his bed, and sat down, letting their own tears fall.

They all sat like that for awhile, and anyone who walked by the room froze in their tracks and felt their own hearts breaking at the sight before them. But then, Neal looked up. His eyes were red and watery, but they also held determination and defiance. His gaze turned to his friends, who looked back at him with confusion. Then, Roald's understood what Neal wanted, and nodded his head. Faleron, Cleon, Seaver, Esmund, and Merric all got it right after and thy all stood up. Duke Baird looked at them for a moment, then went to a servant.

"Call all pages to this room here, but do it discreetly," he ordered. The servant bowed quickly and ran off. Duke Baird turned to his open-mouthed son and his friends, and smiled. "If you're going to defy Lord Wyldon, you may as well do it in style."

Two hours later, Lord Wyldon was sitting at the high table waiting for the pages to come. The squires were already all there, and seated, staring hungrily at their untouched food. The King himself was here also, to try to comfort the page through the loss of their friend.

To everyone's relief, the mess hall's doors flew open, revealing Neal. His head was held high, back straight, mouth set, and eyes determined. He strode in calmly, looking so much like a duke's son that some squires had to resist the urge to jump up and bow.

"Page Nealan," Lord Wyldon thundered, "you are late. Take your seat, but some see me after dinner." Neal looked up at his training master, and spoke so the whole hall could hear him.

"No." Murmurs started, everyone staring in amazement at Neal. Finally, King Jonathan stood.

"Page Nealan that was a direct order from your training master. Take your seat, and see him after dinner." Jonathon commanded. Suddenly a new voice broke in.

"No." Every head turned once more to the doors, and shocked gasps came from everywhere, but Roald ignored them and stood beside his friend.

"Roald?" Jonathan sputtered. "What are you doing?" Roald gave a small smile to his father, but then kept going in a strong voice.

"I'm finally doing what you did, Father. You're always telling me that I don't nearly get into as much trouble as you did, and that I don't say what I think. Well, here it is. I'm _not_ sitting down, and I'm _not_ going to see Lord Wyldon after dinner. And neither will anyone else." On that queue, suddenly every single page filed into the hall, and they all stood behind Neal and Roald, except for Cleon, Faleron, Merric, Seaver, and Esmund who all stood beside their best friends.

With his friends there, Roald felt a new courage over come his fear of disappointing his father, and he continued.

"None of us will do anything you say. You can't make us. Order us around as you wish, but no one will do your commands. Nor will we follow Lord Wyldon's orders. We will sit when we wish, fight when we wish, eat when we're hungry, not when you are, and say what we wish." The pages heads all nodded in agreement. Jonathan was about to speak, when an unmistakeable voice broke in.

"What are you doing?" Jonathan was relieved to see that she wasn't yelling at him, relieved that he had at least one friend on his side, but then Alanna marched up to the pages and kept talking.

"Why are you stopping? Keep going! This is the first time somebody's other then me and Thayet have spoken to him this way! Keep going Roald!" Alanna stared smugly at Jonathan, and then winked at Roald and Neal who were grinning as if they had just been awarded a thousand gold pieces. She leaned down, and whispered so that only they could hear, "Duke Baird got to me."

As if he had been called, Baird walked in the room with Raoul, Daine, Numair, Buri, Onua, George, and even Thayet. Roald smiled at his mother, and she grinned lovingly back, and gestured for him to go one. But Roald's job was done, and he poked Neal to get him to continue.

Neal took a deep breath, and then faced Lord Wyldon who was looking thunderstruck. "Kel was the best of us. You two are the only ones who ignored that fact! She beat all of us at least once, most of us never won when we fought her! And she did all that, with weighted weapons. Some older pages had decided to convince her to leave, and put weights on all of Kel's weapons. She woke up at dawn every morning, and practiced until everyone else was awake. She earned her place here, more then anyone else. But you still kicked her out, simply because she was a girl. If you hadn't kicked Kel out, she wouldn't have died. Nor would her parents have come to pick her up, so if it wasn't for you, Kel and her family would not be dead. I blame you; we all blame you, for their death." Neal then turned to Jonathon. "And if you hadn't agreed to put Kel on probation, Kel would never have been kicked out! I had thought you would be on the Lady Knights side, seeing as you knew about Lady Alanna and that she was your squire who is now your champion! But no, you put her on probation, knowing that she would most likely be denied knighthood after a year! So we all give you just as much blame. We all are taking two weeks off. Two weeks of not following your orders, and when those two weeks are over, we'll continue training as knights, but not so that we can protect you, but so we can protect Tortall in Kel's name. Once we're knights, we will go where we wish, and fight the battles that we want." Neal whirled around and started towards the door, followed by the pages, but then he turned to face Roald and Thayet. "By the way," he drawled casually, "do you two want to come to and stay with father and me for awhile?" Roald looked to his father, who had his head in his hands, and was rubbing his eyes wearily. Then at his mother, who nodded in encouragement. Roald thanked Neal, and together, the pages all walked out of the hall, leaving an astonished training master, and a defied King.

"Ocean's Crown," Kel repeated. "Is that a fief? I've never heard of it." Brinan smiled gently at her.

"Not many people have," he replied. "And no, Ocean's Crown is not a fief, but it was. A long time ago, when King Jonathon's grandfather's grandfather, Nathaniel, was king, Ocean's Crown was the finest fief, the most important of all, second only to Corus. Lord Aramian ruled it, and he was King Nathaniel's best friend, and his most trusted advisor." Brinan now stood up. Kel did the same, and the two continued walking with Taine a few feet in front of them. "Those were time of war, unfortunately, and the King was desperately trying to save his people by sending peace messengers everywhere. When the messengers never returned, the King himself went to each country, attempting to convince the others to give up on war. Sarain, Carthak, the Copper Isles, and the Yamani Isles all agreed. Scanra was the only one that didn't. Nathaniel was preparing the return to Scanra a second time, determined to have peace once and for all, the Scanrans attacked. They swarmed out of this very forest, taking down any travelers on the road, and eventually attacking Corus. Nathaniel was furious, but he knew that if he didn't fight back, his people would label him a coward. So he gathered his greatest forces, and they rode into the battle. The Scanrans were defeated, but at a very high price. Out of the hundreds of thousands Tortallans that had fought, only two thousand returned, Nathaniel and Aramian among them. Nathaniel was sorrowed, and he didn't smile or laugh much after that. The worry that the Scanrans would attempt the forest route again followed him like a plague. Finally, having had enough of it, Aramian returned to his home, where he talked to all of his soldiers. Back at the Palace, news came that Lord Aramian had been riding from fief to fief, with hundreds of strong men with him. Nathaniel was very surprised when Aramian returned with exactly six hundred and fifty-two men. Lord Aramian took Nathaniel to his private chambers, and proceeded to tell him of his plan. Aramian had gathered these men to ride through the King's Forest until the Border of Scanra, where they would take up residence, keeping any Scanrans who dared cross onto Tortallan soil away. Nathaniel wanted to agree right away, but he did not want his friend to go, but Aramian was persistent, and after many farewells, they rode off."

Kel was staring at Brinan fixedly now, not saying a word, but her face showing that she was captivated by hi tale. Brinan was walking in silence, looking as if he hadn't been talking just a minute ago. Kel kept staring, but Brinan kept walking. Finally, Kel's exasperation got the better of her.

"What happened?" she demanded. Brinan looked down at her and smiled.

"Tortall never saw Scanrans coming out of this forest again. Lord Aramian and his men did their jobs." Kel was not satisfied.

"What happened to them? Did they ever return home? And why isn't Ocean's Crown a fief anymore?" Brinan gave a small chuckle at her eagerness.

"Well, I'm not the best at telling this story. Taine is." Kel snapped her gaze to Taine, who was still walking a ways in front of her and Brinan. Kel then looked at Brinan, one eyebrow raised in question. Brinan nodded to her, and then Kel quickened her pace until she was beside Taine.

Taine looked at her in surprise, but didn't stop.

"Could you finish the story for me, please?" Kel asked hesitantly. Taine didn't respond, and Kel sighed. She turned to go back to Brinan, but froze when Taine spoke.

"No, they neva went back ta Corus. They styed here. Nathaniel was sad tha' he never saw his friend again, bu' he honoured the promise tha' Aramian had made 'im make; tha' he would neva go lookin' for them. Withou' Aramian, Ocean's Crown was bleak, an' finally, Nathaniel closed it' down. Everyone said tha' Aramian an' his men dies out here, killed by Scanrans, but they weren't."

"How do you know that?" Kel asked. Taine said nothing, nor did Brinan. Then, Taine spoke once more.

"Because of this." Taine pushed past overgrown ferns, and some huge fir trees blocking his path. Kel followed him, with Brinan behind her. They kept moving until Taine stopped, and Kel turned, frustrated, to Brinan.

"Because of what?" In reply, Brinan smiled, and behind Kel, in Taine's direction. Kel turned around. The first thing she noticed was that Taine was now striding into a clearing. The second thing she noticed was that the clearing wasn't empty. There were tents set up all around, with about three small log cabins. One huge fire pit was in the center. The third thing Kel noticed was that there were dozens and dozens of men, women, and children. The men were all strongly built, with peasant's clothing but a regal air. The children were all running around with either firewood or water in their hands, or simply playing. The fourth thing Kel noticed was the flag being hoisted. It was pure white, but with sapphire blue waves dancing in the wind at the bottom. Over the waves, as if the ocean's was wearing it, was a single golden crown.


	7. A History, A Friend

The Great Goddess Mother smiled as her careful eyes followed Kel in the Reflecting Pool, which allowed her to see anyone she wanted to see and what they were doing at that time. She studied Kel carefully, trying to see if there was any reproach or disgust in her facial expression as she took in who, and what, her new friends, Brinan and Taine, were. Finding none, the Goddess felt relieved, for she knew that these two men would treat Kel well, if Kel decided to stay, and judging from the Goddess's knowledge of Kel, she would stay. The Goddess knew that Kel could find great friends in these men, and their people, as long as she played her cards right. Taine would be a little more difficult, but he would be even more valuable then the others.

'_Oh Keladry, you and I will show my brother what he should be afraid off. But not yet; stay safe for now, our time will come, and when it does, many decisions made by nobles and my brother will be regretted. We will see to that.'_

*********************************************************************************

Kel gaped in shock as she looked around the camp. She could feel Brinan and Taine's eyes on her, waiting for her reaction, but Kel was too busy to tell them off.

'Ocean's Crown lives on,' she thought, 'the descendents of Lord Aramian and his followers live here, and I'm standing in a legendary camp, among people who's ancestors risked their lives for the happiness of their King and country. Of course, I would never do that now, but still; just being in this place, it's so old, and so…so…loyal. They've been protecting Tortall all this time! This small camp is why we've never been attacked from our woods! ' Kel was sure that if it wasn't for her many years in Yamani training, her jaw would have dropped right to the ground. As is t was, she was having a little bit of trouble trying to keep it closed at all.

Kel turned to Brinan.

"How?" she demanded. Brinan simply smiled at her, knowing exactly what she wanted to know. He looked at the young girl in front of him who was staring straight at him with eyes that were swimming with questions. Yet try as he might, Brinan could not find the pain and loss that he was sure that she was feeling deep down for the death of her family. He realized that she was still waiting for an answer while he was lost in thoughts. He clasped his hands behind his back, and paced a little bit while he gathered up his train of mind, finding the right things to say.

"When Lord Aramian arrived at the border, he and his men were prepared for spending the rest of their lives in solitude. What they didn't expect, though, were the Caeliants. The Caeliants was a nomad tribe. Their people ranged from Yamanis, to Carthakians, to Scanrans, to even some Tortallans. They were simply people, peasants, who decided on a different style of life. No one knows how the Caeliants started, but they found Lord Aramian's camp.

The soldiers were all very surprised, naturally, to see others in this forest. They began spending more and more of their time with the Caeliants, and many of the men fell in love with Caeliant women. So when the tribe moved on, as nomad tribes always do after a certain amount of time, many of the women stayed behind with their loves, and started families. But after some time, the Caeliants returned, and they brought with them another tribe; one much the same as theirs. They soon left, but more women stayed. Again, they left, but they returned once again. That kept on, and on, and here we are. The Caeliants still come every few years."

Kel stared in awe at Brinan.

"And you've gone undetected all this time?" she asked incredulously; Brinan nodded.

"It's not that hard," he explained. "All we have to do is keep any Scanrans or other foolish people from crossing our border."

"Id helps tha' no one thinks ware her'," Taine interrupted. "An'…"

"Stop," Kel cut him off. "I can't understand a word you're saying. Could you please talk with a little less forest talk? At least so that I can understand you without tiring out my brain too much?" Brinan laughed while the corners of Taine's lips twitched and curled ever so slightly. He repeated himself in a voice that was much easier to understand.

"It helps tha' no one thinks we're here. To them, we're nothin' but a legend; a myth that some people made up to get their kids ta sleep at night. An' as long as we keep quiet, tha''s what we are."

Kel nodded, understanding what he said, but not really getting the reason. She saw Brinan and Taine now staring at her. She sighed.

"I suppose you want my life story now." Brinan hesitated, but Taine didn't. He nodded stiffly, still staring at her, as if trying to see past the mask of indifference that now dominated the features of her face. Kel locked her eyes on the ground for a minute, and then looked up.

"I don't have to. You told me your origin, and how you came to be here, but nothing about your lives. Therefore, I don't need to tell you anything, since you already know that I'm here because my parents were both killed by bandits and I came here to run away from the life of pity and loneliness that would surely envelop me if I went home. That's the only part of my sad story that you are going to hear. Alright? Fair enough?" Kel could see that Taine was about to retort rudely to her words, but she saw Brinan discreetly elbow him in the ribs.

Brinan sighed, "Fair enough." Taine still didn't look satisfied, but he kept quiet.

"Are you still going to try to drop me off on the side of the road, or are you going to let me stay?" she asked hesitantly, a little scared of what the answer would be. Brinan and Taine exchanged looks. Kel couldn't see that Brinan's eyes were pleading with Taine's guarded face, but she did see Taine roll his eyes, shrug, and walk off.

Kel watched his back as he walked further away, and then turned to look at Brinan who was waiting patiently beside her.

"Come," he said gently, "I'm sure you're exhausted. There's a small tent that you could use here for the time being until we find you somewhere else." Kel nodded, and followed Taine into the midst of the camp. Everyone turned to look at her, confusion etched on everyone's faces. But no one said a word against her. Kel wondered what Brinan's position was in this camp; everyone seems to respect him. But as she reached a small tent, only big enough for a single child, Kel let those thoughts tumble away. She crawled in, after mumbling a quiet "thank you" to Brinan, and fell into a deep sleep.

*************************************************************************************

_Flames were everywhere. Kel could barely see past the circling smoke and roaring fire that surrounded her. She soughed, uselessly attempting to rid her lungs of the smoke that filled them and threatened to stop her breathing. As Kel stumbled through the haze, she could suddenly see everything so much clearer, and she wished that she was blind to her surroundings once more. Kel screamed, not caring who would see her and mock her for showing a sign of weakness.  
Lying in front of her, flames were licking their way through Ilane of Mindelan's body. Her torso and legs were savagely burned, so you could see the bones poking through her flesh. Her face was woundless, but that made it all the worse, for Kel could see her mother's lifeless eyes staring up at her. Kel turned and ran, but everywhere she looked, her mother stared back at her. Finally, sobbing, Kel slumped to the ground, her face in her hands. She stayed that way, listening the snapping and sizzling of everything that enveloped her. _

_Finally thinking that she had herself under control, Kel looked up again, but then regretted it. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight that was before her. Neal was standing amidst the greedy flames. Tears of pain were leaking from his eyes and onto his soot covered cheeks. As Kel watched in horror, the fire quickly wound its way around his arms and legs. With a singly cry of absolute agony, Neal was gone._

_*************************************************************************************_

Kel leapt out of her bedroll, her head hitting the top of the tiny tent and knocking it over, but Kel barely even noticed. She blindly grabbed for her sword and sprinted out into the open air. Breathing heavily, Kel ran to the very edge of the camp, the silence of the night echoing around her; a drastic change from her nightmare.

Once at the edge, Kel slowed down, but her legs did not stop moving until she was a little ways away, and very much alone. She drew her sword, tossing the scabbard lightly to the ground. She correctly grasped the handle, and quickly moved into one of the exercise drills that Lord Wyldon. She lashed out with her sword, keeping on even when her arm muscles ached. The Crescent moon drill, the quart parry, the quart engage, disengage, repost, lunge, attack, disengage, and then start over. Kel continued on and on, not caring that tears were silently running down her cheeks and drowning her eyes. Finally, after what seemed like days and what was probably hours, her movements ceased, and Kel dropped to the grounds, her sobs consuming her.

Hope lying on the ground next to her, Kel's tired hands clamped around large chunks of grass and tore them from the ground. She worked furiously, letting all of her bottled up emotions come out at once. She was so caught up in her crying that she didn't see a lone figure step out from the bushes behind her and slowly walk forward.

*************************************************************************************

Taine cautiously approached her, his usually unreadable eyes showing no scorn, simply a tad of sympathy, but mostly understanding. Here was the breakdown that he and Brinan had expected of her when the first found her in the woods. Taine was also feeling shock; he couldn't believe how fast she had been going with that drill, or even that she was able to use a sword. It wasn't a very complex drill, but it was obvious that it would take a lot of practice to get it right.

Taine stood behind Kel for a moment, watching her shoulder heave up and down for a minute. Then, he knelt down beside her, and placed his hand on her shoulder, letting Kel know that someone was there for her; that she wasn't alone.

Feeling his hand, Kel's head shot up. Her red rimmed eyes gazed up at Taine for a moment before she threw her arms around him and hugged him with all her might.

Taine's surprised arms caught her and held her securely. Kel's head was pressed against his chest and Taine could feel her tears slowly but surely seeping their way through his shirt. But to his own amazement, he didn't care. One of his hands hesitantly reached up and stroked her hair with the tenderness of an elder brother trying to calm her. He held her until her crying lessened, becoming small hitches in her breath. And even then, he didn't let go.

For a while, the odd pair simply sat there. The moon made its journey across the sky, and the stars became fainter and fainter. Still, Kel and Taine didn't move. Finally, just as the sun started easing its way up from the horizon, Kel stirred. Taine's arms fell from around her as she sat up and looked around.

Kel turned to look at Taine, questions swimming in her eyes. Finally, she spoke.

"Thank you. I don't know where that came from." Taine's face gave away that he didn't believe her for a moment.

"Yeh needed it." Was all he said. Kel nodded in agreement. The two lapsed into silence once more. Facing the sunrise, but actually looking at Kel from the corner of his eyes, Taine tried to judge the girl sitting beside him. She had been trained in fighting; that much was obvious. She rarely showed emotions, something the Yamani used, she had just lost her parents, and was taking it quite calmly, and she chose to stay here in the woods with their camp instead of returning to the life of wealth that she probably came from. No matter what Taine did, she always remained a mystery to him.

Just as the sky turned its usual shade of periwinkle blue, Taine slowly got up, stretching his stiff muscles and sore backside. He turned to Kel, who was still sitting, but now looking at him, and held out his hand.

"Are yeh coming? Or am I goin' ta have ta explain how yeh mysteriously and suddenly disappeared inta the woods?" Kel smiled gently and took his hand, hauling herself off the ground with him supporting her weight.

Taine made to leave, but Kel grabbed his arm. As he looked at her, she asked,

"Why?" Taine, understanding what she meant, responded quietly.

"Why did I help yeh just now? You remind me of someone." Keal nodded, accepting his answer. Together, in a comfortable silence, left the clearing and returned to the camp.

* * *

Alrighty, now I am very sorry for taking so long to update; things were very hectic with school ending. The enxt chapter will probably by up within a week or two...hopefully. If you want to see what I imainged Ocean's Crown looked like, you can go to my profile. I don't know how to do links, so you have to copy the address and place it it the website bar.

Disclaimer: I am not Tamora Pierce. Everything from her stories belongs to her.

~Starmaker08~


	8. An enemy, A Lord

Neal sat on his bed, staring into space. He was glad that he was home at Queenscove and that most of his friends had come with him, including Prince Roald and his mother, Queen Thayet. Almost all of the pages, plus many nobles including the Lioness, his father, Lord Roaul, Daine, and Numair, had joined in his protest of the way Kel had been treated when she had been training, and the unfair way in which she had been thrown out. And because the King and Lord Wyldon had thrown her out, now she and her parents were dead. Neal didn't think that he could ever forgive them for that. Actually, he was sure of it. Kel had always worked so much harder than anyone else had. She woke up at dawn every morning, practiced with extra weights, fought her fear of heights, and not to mention the bullying that she got for simply being a girl. Neal was sure that there was no one else who deserved being a knight more than Kel, but now she'd never be one.  
A knocking came from his door, and he called out to come in. His fellow page friends all entered the room. Roald spoke.

"We should become prepared, Neal. We need to decide what's going to happen once we return to the Palace."

"Yes, like how we're going to treat the Stump and the King," Merric put his thoughts in. Neal looked at them for a minute, and then started to speak, his voice hoarse and dry from the lack of use.

"We treat them like we always have. We've never had any respect for the Stump; we'll keep it that way. As for the King, it's not like we'll see him much, but when we do, polite, cold, and distant will do the trick. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm keeping up Kel's…" his voice broke slightly at his best friend's name, while the other all looked down, "Kel's legacy. No new page is going to get hazed unfairly. We can let them do small things, but when it becomes bullying, the bully is going to get it bad. I don't care how much trouble I get it into. Kel would have wanted that."

His friends nodded in agreement.

"It will be a bit hard to not see my father at all, but I'll pretend that he's not my father, just my King," Roald declared, gaining a weak smile from Neal. "Good, now that that's settled, Neal, you really need to come down and eat. You haven't had a full meal since…since we heard the news."  
Neal kept silent, but rose off his bed and went to the dining hall with Roald, Seaver, Esmond, Faleron, Cleon, and Merric all following. When they had reached their destination, and had all sat down, they started reaching for their food.

When Duke Baird entered, he was very surprised to find his son and many other pages' plates filled with not only the usual, but they were also heaped with many various types of vegetables.

--

When Kel and Taine entered the camp, Kel was shocked to find that everyone was already awake and busy. Both women and men were seated around the campfire preparing the breakfast while children scurried around, carrying wood for the fire, water to wash in and drink, gathering the ingredients for their meal, and carrying out orders from everyone in the camp. There were some people still emerging sleepily from their cabins and tents, but Kel was still awed by the fact that they were all up by dawn.  
As soon as he saw her, Brinan rushed over to Kel.

"Where were you? I was beginning to think that you had decided not to stay with us after all!" he exclaimed. Truthfully, he had been worrying, and was now very glad that she was back safely.  
Kel turned to her left to thank Taine again, but all she found was empty space. She looked back at Brinan's questioning gaze.

"Sorry, I just needed some time alone to think." Brinan still look skeptical, but he accepted her excuse. He led her over to the campfire where many men and women were sitting. As she approached, they all looked up at her. Brinan quickly introduced her.

"This is Kel; she'll be staying with us for as long as she wishes." The women all nodded, but many of the men kept glancing at her as she sat down. Finally, one of them spoke.

"Has this been approved?" he demanded, "She is an outsider. And by the looks of it, a noble. My lord would never go with this, he hates all of them and with good reason after his-"

"That's enough Kaj." Brinan said sharply. "Our lord _has_ agreed to it, and it is not your place to question him, nor is it to question me. Kel is welcomed here. Still your flaying tongue and eat." The man, Kaj, instantly returned to his meal, his ears burning red. But when he looked up, his eyes were focused on Kel in a glare.  
Apart from Kaj, Kel was welcomed at the campfire. Some spoke quietly to her, while others simply offered her small smiles. Kel felt herself slowly relaxing around these people. Once all the food was gone, though, instantly everyone was up and working. One of the women at the campfire took Kel's arm and led her away. After a moment, Kel found herself among boys and girls of her own age.

"This is Kel," the woman explained. "She needs a guide. Any volunteers?" Two people, a girl and a boy, stepped forward. The woman nodded her approval, then left. The girl smiled hesitantly at Kel.

"Hi! My name is Denilah, but everyone calls me Deni, and this is my friend Farresh, who everyone calls Resh." The boy, Farresh, also smiled at her.

"Hi," Kel responded, but said nothing else. She was reminded of her first day of probation, where Neal had stepped up to be her sponsor. _'Oh Neal,'_ she thought sadly, _'what are you doing now? Do you think about me at all?'_ Deni and Resh quickly figured out that she wanted to keep quiet just then and started talking among themselves instead.

Suddenly, there was a loud clang, startling Kel out of her thoughts and causing her to look around in surprise. Deni giggled at her reaction, and Resh gave a quirky grin.

"That's the announcement bell," he explained. "It summons everyone to the glade and we are addressed by our Lord once a week. After that bell, the real work begins" Kel nodded sagely, but she couldn't help but feel worried that if that morning's hustle and bustle wasn't considered work, what was? She followed Resh and Deni, now hesitantly speaking to them while they remained thrilled at the prospect of someone from beyond their world; the forest.  
They reached what Kel supposed was the meeting glade. Men, women, and children alike had already filled the glade, but amazingly, there was still room for others to come. Kel let her eyes wander, drinking in what details she could. Most men had knives settled at their belts, probably hidden in their boots as well, the women mostly carried bows and arrows. Kel noticed that almost no one had a sword with them.

She saw Kaj seated with other young men his age; they were all being very loud, and there were very many girls their age who kept glancing over to them with the moon in their eyes. Kel could see that that small fact did not go unnoticed by Kaj's gang; most of them winked when a girl looked at them, making the girls giggle or blush.

Drums started playing, creating a strange beat to which Kel had to restrain her feet from tapping a long, even though she saw many others doing hat exact thing. Then, just as quickly as they had started, the drums stopped.

"This is when milord comes," Deni whispered rapidly to Kel. All eyes were now trained on a large boulder, and Kel turned to the same spot, just in time to see who she assumed was the Lord, jump up and proudly looked at his camp. But Kel didn't notice that, she only saw the man's familiar face.  
It was Taine.

"People of Ocean's Crown," Taine spoke, his voice not a bellow, nor a roar, simply a voice threading its way easily through the throng of people gathered and winding its way past the trees to fill the entire forest, "for a long time now, there has not been an attack on Tortall through these woods. We are the reason." Everyone cheered at this point, and Kel could see the loyalty everyone felt for Taine practically glowing around them."We have prospered in this forest, and the King of Tortall owes us for keeping his land peaceful, but it isn't his land, is it? He hasn't lived by its uses, hasn't felt the sun's harsh glare as well as its gentle shine. He can't even begin to comprehend the things that this land can do. We can; we know. That's why this land isn't his, it's ours." When he finished, the cheering was deafening, but Kel was yelling along with everyone else. But to everyone's shock, Taine hadn't finished.

"I promise you, as Lord Aramian's flesh and blood, I promise you that this is not how it will always be. Everything's changing. Scanra is now not attacking us, but attacking themselves. We should use that. My second in command, Brinan," Kel turned to stare at the man who had welcomed her immediately; of course, he was standing at Taine's right side, but Kel had been so caught up in Taine's speech that she had not seen him come in. She shook those thoughts away and continued listening to Taine.

"-and I have agreed to travel to different lands. To learn their culture for a year or two, then move on. But we will not be going alone. We have been watching all the young ones, and have chosen the best to come with us." At this point, the whole camp was in uproar.

"We will not leave for a few months, but when we do, here are those who will be coming. Zama,for her excellence in strategy," a shy looking girl stepped up, a small grin dominating her features, "Kaj, for his talent with hand-to-hand combat," he stepped forward with an arrogant look, "Resh, for his skills with a bow," Resh's face broke out into a huge smile, "Deni, for her tracking abilities," Deni squealed with delight. Taine listed off three other names before he paused. There was a lineup up of children ranging from ten to fourteen in front of him, but Taine wasn't looking at them, he was staring straight at Kel.

"The last position goes to someone who hasn't been here long, but already has my respect, to whom I have felt awe, and by whom I have been shocked numerous times. Kel, come line up with the others."  
The camp went from screaming, to quiet. No one made a sound as Kel slowly made her way to Taine. The silence around her was deafening, but Kel ignored it and kept her face as still as a lake in the morning. She stood next to Deni and Resh, and saw that Brinan was smiling at her, and that Taine was nodding his approval. Taine jumped down from the boulder to stand in front of them.

"This," he gestured at the eight children, "is our future."  
No one wanted to question the choice of Lord Taine, but Kel could see that almost everyone was thoroughly confused by Taine choosing her, especially Kaj. Kel herself was ecstatic, but didn't let it show. As Taine walked in front of her, he reached out his hand to rest on her shoulder for an instant, and he said in a quiet voice that only Kel could hear,

"Plus, you have skill with a blade, and I'm almost positive that the sword is not the only weapon that you have ever used." Kel gave a quick nod, to let him know that she had both heard, and had trained with more weapons. Then, he moved on.  
Taine gave a look around, then turned around and strode off, with not so much as a farewell, or orders for the day. As soon as he disappeared, Resh ran up to Kel.

"You know Lord Taine?" he demanded incredulously. At Kel's nod, he whistled appreciatively, and Deni's jaw dropped.

"How?" she asked disbelievingly. Kel simply shrugged her shoulders; if they knew she had been found in the forest, they would almost certainly ask why she had been there, and Kel wasn't quite ready to delve into that particular topic. Resh looked as if he wanted to keep asking, but Kel hastily changed the subject.

"You're good at archery, Resh? And you at tracking, Deni?" Deni took the hint, and quickly gave Kel a hand.

"Oh yes," she exclaimed, "everyone here starts their training young, and once they find something that they like, and are pretty good at, they mostly focus on that one thing for awhile. They still work on the others, but most of their time is spent on their best things. I chose tracing when I was 10, Resh chose archery when he was 11, and I'm pretty sure that he's a prodigy." Resh started to protest, but Deni shot him a look that clearly dared him to argue with that small fact.

"Archery just seems right to me," he explained casually. "You can really think about it; I hate doing anything that hasn't been well thought out. Besides, all you have to do is strengthen the arms, have good aim, and good timing. Plus, it sure makes you feel useful. " Kel tried to look confused, even though she knew that feeling very well herself. She saw Deni looking at her skeptically, so Kel put her Yamani mask into place, just in case her lie was seen through.

"How old are you both?" She asked, trying to distract them both again.

"I'm 14," Resh responded, "and Deni's 13. How old are you?" When Kel answered 11, both of them looked momentarily stunned.

"You seem…older." Deni ventured hesitantly. Kel felt inwardly amused at the fact that everyone seemed to think that she was older than she really was; she figured it was Neal's influence.

Once again at his mention, Kel felt the now familiar twang of pain deep inside. That pain must have momentarily shown on her face, for Deni looked at her strangely. '_I'll have to be careful around her,"_ Kel though to herself. _"She's very observant, and if anyone sees what's wrong, it will be her and Taine."_  
Once again, a bell clanged, and Kel had to resist the urge to jump at the sound. Deni and Resh turned to grin at her.

"Welcome to Ocean's crown, Kel. You'll probably sleep well tonight."

**Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy the latest chapter. I welcome you to visit my profile; there's a poll that needs voting! **

**I need at least 13 reviews this time before I can get another chapter out! So get writing! I'll get writing immediately! **

**Star**


	9. A worker, A duel

There was little that any god feared. They could confront the most dangerous things, and only feel amusement. If they did die, it was painless and they would always be reborn; death was their friend. But there were two things that every single god, including the Black God, was terrified of: the wrath of the Great Sun God, and the anger of the Great Mother Goddess. Unfortunately for them, it was a fear they could not escape.

"**You did WHAT?"** Roared Mithros to his sister.

"_Oh, calm yourself Mithros." The Great Mother Goddess snapped. "It wasn't as if you expected me to simply sit around and do as you had bid!"_

"**Perhaps not, but that does not mean that were supposed to show yourself to her! I thought I had clearly told you that our involvement of any kind with Keladry of Mindelan was forbidden!"**

"_You said that quite clearly, and I heard it very well but I chose to ignore you." _Mithros was practically spitting with rage. He took a few calming breaths, then let loose.

"**I WILL NOT BE IGNORED! Not by anyone, and especially not by you! What I order is what is to be done!"**

"_But what you order cannot be followed without my consent, have you forgotten that small fact?_" his sister responded angrily. She despised it when Mithros acted like he was more important than she was, even though they were meant to be equals.

"**That is besides the point! You cannot simply go around into mortals' lives like this! It gives them false hope!"**

"_So Alanna was given false hope, and that is why she is now a female knight, the King's Champion, a baroness, happily married, and has children? Is that what you are saying?"_

"**Alanna of Trebond was different! You chose her before she was born! You gave her the gift, with the ability to heal. You lent her your cat, to guide her. YOU CANNOT CHOOSE A HUMAN WHEN SHE IS ELEVEN! In any case; the girl had a lot of luck."**

"_LUCK?" The Great Mother Goddess was outraged, and she wasn't hesitant about showing it. "Luck was it when she destroyed the Ysandir? Was it luck that she saw what Duke Roger was planning? Luck, when she beat him in duel? I think not!"_

"**You helped her!"**

"_Only in small ways!"_

"**Alanna is not what we are talking about here! You cannot change the fate of humans!"**

"_Of course not! Sending that Wyldon human a dream about all the things that could go wrong with Keladry as a knight is not meddling in human fate at all! Silly of me to think that."_ Mithros' face turned even redder.

"**How do you know that?" **He bellowed in rage.

"_That's my business, though you must remind me to send a 'Thank-you' card Gamiel."_

"**Do not play with me! If Keladry had passed on to Page Training, and eventually to a squire, things could have happen that could have ruined everything! One wrong decision and the whole realm of Tortall could have come crashing down! You know of what I speak, sister."**

"_COULD ruin everything. The realm of Tortall COULD come crashing down. I know perfectly well of what you speak, Mithros, but you can't possibly think that Keladry will cause it! What has she ever done to you? And I thought that we had agreed that as long as you continue to mistreat Keladry, that I am not your sister."_

"**I did not agree to that; you did. And no, I don't THINK Keladry will cause it, I know she will! You would as well if your brain wasn't clouded by your unknown anger with me."**

"_Unknown anger? You took the heart's desire of a child, and cast it away as if it was nothing! Her parents are dead because you forced them to pick Keladry up to return her home!"_

"**A simple price to pay for Tortall's safety!"**

"_Tortall's safety could be depending on this girl!"_

"**COULD be depending."**

"_Do not mimic me!"_

* * *

"Here's a job that's not too hard for you to begin with, Kel; fetching the water. Even the older kids have to do it. We all run down to the river, and walk back up to the camp with as much water as we can carry," Resh explained patiently while Kel processed the information.

"Grab a bucket or two, and follow us. Pay attention to your surroundings though; you should know your way to the river," Deni advised. Kel nodded obediently, and grabbed a bucket. She could feel the unexpected weight of a complete iron bucket, but picked it up as if it was nothing. Resh opened his mouth to say something, but Deni quickly shushed him. Wordlessly, the two started on their way, Kel quietly following behind them, committing the short walk to memory as she went.

Soon, Kel heard the sound of cool water running over rocks not far away. Resh and Deni rounded a corner, and Kel saw a roaring river crashing in front of her.

"Alright Kel, this part is a little harder!" Resh yelled above the noise.

"Right," Agreed Deni, "Now you have to dip in the bucket very, very carefully, so that the current doesn't grab it away from you! Don't feel bad if you do let go though; everyone does their first time!" Kel nodded, but inwardly she promised herself that she would not let go. Bracing herself for the river's strength, Kel dipped the bucket in and instantly relaxed. The pull was not nearly as strong as she had expected it to be, barely anything compared to all of the training that she had previously done. Quite easily she pulled out the bucket, which was now filled with water, and had no problem at all dipping the second in and out. Deni and Resh were watching, eyes wide, as Kel lifted both buckets as if they were feathers. Children who had been doing that for years still had some difficulty doing it.

When all three of them had finished, they wordlessly made their way back to the camp. Kel was wondering if the other jobs would be as easy as water fetching, and wondering what she would do when it was time to do their training. Resh and Deni on the other hand were thinking about Kel, and how they knew so little about her. Deni was positive that there was something that Kel didn't want them to know, and was determined to find out sooner or later. Resh simply wanted to understand, to have someone new to play pranks with, and become a trio with him and Deni. The three of them were not aware of the quietness; their own thoughts were loud enough for them. As they neared the campfire site, where the homemade well was placed, Resh broke the silence.

"Gods, Kel," he started in a teasing tone, "you're strong! What have you been doing, lifting bricks for fun?" He started laughing hilariously at his own joke, while Deni rolled her eyes and groaned. Kel grinned at the easy manner in which these two friends talked and acted around each other. Deni and Resh started bantering back and forth, and by the time that they reached the well, Kel had joined in.

"Oh, so Kel is strong, but when I lift heavy things like that: I got a lighter load of it?" Deni demanded, faking an outraged tone of voice.

"Why, not at all, my fair lady," Resh cried, "It is only Kaj who says that!" He then adopted a simpering smile. "Oh, Deni my dear, it's not that you aren't capable, even though you're not, it is simply that I wish to help a lady such as yourself. It is my duty as a gentleman!"

Kel began to laugh at the perfect imitation of Kaj's superior and mocking voice, but Deni only gave a flirtatious smile.

"Why, Kaj! How absolutely noble of you! Your father must be so proud, and why shouldn't he be? Having the perfect gentleman for a son" She then sighed dreamily, and stared at Resh/Kaj with loving eyes. Resh, enjoying the façade, lifted his arms and flexed his biceps proudly. Then, Deni couldn't help it. She joined Kel in roaring with laughter while Resh pouted at their amusement with his muscles, but after a moment, he too began to chuckle. They reached the well a few moments later, and Resh set down his buckets an exaggerated groan of pain that was so Neal-like that Kel had to grin, and when Deni looked at her questionably, Kel simply shrugged her shoulder and changed the subject.

"What next?" she asked, "Or are we done?" Deni had to laugh at that, and she slung her arm around Kel's shoulders.

"Oh you are so naïve about our way of life! The work here is not done until the sun is down and sleeping!" She laughed again, and led the way away.

* * *

By lunch, Resh and Deni were amazed. They had taught Kel how to do all of the chores, including the ones that most people found quite difficult but Kel didn't show any sign of tiring. Even after all the years of doing it, Deni and Resh still were a little tired by the end, but to their eyes, Kel was not at all. They didn't know yet how well Kel could hide her emotions when she wanted to. She actually was tired, but after her year of training, she found that she could deal with it quite easily.

Kel had carried in the wood, helped pitch tents, skinned animals, been on sentry duty, helped the younger children with their work (which included more water carrying and odd chores for specific people), chopped trees down, and attended a few classes such as mathematics and history. By the time the noon bell rang, Kel couldn't believe that the sun hadn't gone to sleep yet.

"Come with us, Kel! This is one of the best parts of the day!" Resh exclaimed joyfully, almost prancing his way back to the campfire. Deni rolled her eyes at him.

"Not everyone loves eating more than anything else in the world, Resh! Some people actually enjoy the battle training more!" Kel smiled for the ten thousandth time that day when Resh pounded his fist to his heart in pretend shock and stumbled back a few steps before chuckling and returning to his place in between Kel and Deni.

They reached the campfire and Kel froze in surprise. The whole entire camp was there; some were eating under trees, others sitting on rocks, and some sitting around the campfire, but what really got Kel, was that people of all ages were there. No one was separated. Some younger kids sat with their families, while others with friends, but no one was eating alone, or in age groups. There were no ranks as far as she could tell, not like pages sat with pages, or squires with squires, and Kel found that she liked this arrangement more.

Deni looked at her staring friend, and once again wondered where she had come from. Lord Taine knew her, Commander Brinan did as well, but Deni guessed that even they did not know Kel's story. Deni could see the look of longing and sadness that crossed her face so often, and she was sure that Kel didn't want her to see it. Then there was that way that everything seemed so new and strange for her; like she had never seen a campfire before, or people working together. To Deni, Kel was a puzzle that was she was going to work on… even if it took years to solve. Deni really liked Kel, all she wanted to do was help her friend.

"Grab some food Kel, and come over here!" Resh called over from a cluster of weeping willows. Kel nodded, piled some unknown and strange-looking food onto a wooded plate, and made her way over to him. There, she could see that they had complete privacy.

"I adore deer tongues!" Resh moaned with his mouth full. Kel glanced at his plate and did a double take. There was some meat, but there were also many piles of vegetables. Deni's plate was the same, she noticed quickly. Kel felt glad that she wouldn't have to remind anybody, but sad because she missed Neal.

"Does everyone here like vegetables?" Kel asked carefully. Deni and Resh immediately looked up from their meals to stare at Kel incredulously.

"Are you saying that where you come from a lot of people don't eat vegetables?" Deni demanded, just as shocked as Resh was. When Kel nodded, they both became speechless.

"That's really strange," Resh said, shaking his head slowly, "everybody here eats them three times a day; they give us the energy that we need to work and train." The three of them fell silent after that, each just slowly picking at their food.

They were jerked back to reality by a sudden clanging that echoed through the whole clearing. Resh and Deni shared a secret grin, then looked at Kel.

"Practice time!"

* * *

When Kel entered the training courts, it felt as if she was returning home. There were groups of people all practicing different things, ranging from intermediate level to just beginning, archery, knives, staff, spear, hand-to-hand combat and whip. Further away in the woods, Kel could see the tracking group, all with bows that graced their back, obviously showing that they were practicing their skill with hunting that day. Kel watched as Deni waved goodbye, then ran off gracefully to join her skill-mates, and Resh did the same. Each group of people had a leader who was older and wiser who gave advice and taught the younger ones. The older children, who looked maybe 16 and up, were practicing without a mentor, as if they had nothing left to learn. A few of the mentors looked at Kel, and then made their way over to her. They all were looking her up and down, trying to figure out which weapon would be the easiest for her to start with.

While they continued their evaluation of her, Kel noticed that even with the training courts completely filled, there was no noise, not even the twanging of bows being released or the thump of staffs being knocked against each other. Refocusing on the camp, she saw everyone staring at the newcomer who had walked into the center of the courts.

Taine was walking silently, and if he was concerned about everyone watching him in amazement, he didn't show it. Taine slowed his steps until he was standing still. Then, he swept his eyes over the crowd, quite plainly seeking someone. His eye passed over Kel, but then snapped back to her, where they stayed. Taine then started walking again, but this time, he strode quickly over to Kel. The silence in the courts didn't last. Everyone started whispering, wondering why the Lord Taine was walking towards the new girl; maybe to welcome her publically? But Lord Taine never did things like that, never. The mentors froze as the realized that Taine was beside them, and they all made a quick bow.

"My lord!" One of them stuttered, "What brings you here to the practice courts this fine day?" Taine didn't answer; instead, he walked right past the mentors until he was in front of Kel.

"No one here knows how to handle a sword very well," he murmured quietly so that only she could hear, "except me. I will train you in swordplay in the afternoon, and we can also work on some other weapons if you like." Kel listened carefully, and then nodded determinedly. Taine nodded back before answering the mentor who had spoken.

"I wished to speak with Kel. She will not be learning in the training courts with you." Kel saw Deni and Resh flash each other confused looks, before returning their eyes to the scene that was being played before them.

"But my Lord," the mentor started, "everyone practices here at this time of day! And-"

"Kel will still be practicing," Taine interrupted, "simply not here. She will be training with me." A collective gasp went through the air. Taine was a great lord, and skilled in the arts of battle and leadership, but he never picked favourites, and he hardly ever took part in the children's training; only when he wished to oversee them practice. The mentors were dumbstruck, but they managed to nod and walk away, shooting perplexed glanced behind them as they went.

Taine motioned for Kel to follow him, then he turned and retreated into the woods where Kel could barely see him behind the gigantic trees. Kel quickly jogged after him, making sure that she could see at least his silhouette. Finally, after many dozens of minutes, Kel slowed as she found Taine standing right in the middle of the same clearing in which he had found her furiously doing sword drills the night before. He didn't even turn around; he just started speaking in a quiet voice that Kel needed to strain to hear.

"We will work here every afternoon. You're probably going to get more practice than all of the others because even if the bell rings, signalling it's time to break or have dinner, if I want you to keep working, you will keep working. Understand? Good. Let's begin. I got your sword from your tent, and will do so every day. I do not want you carrying it around so that everyone can see. The fact that I am training you is now public, but not that we are using swords. We'll keep that our little secret. Now, let's begin." He tossed Kel's sword into the air where she easily caught it. Drawing his own sword, Taine faced her.

"First off, we'll have a small duel. I saw talent last night, but now I want to see the extent of your abilities. Guard!" Kel had barely entered the guard position before Taine attacked. His blow was quick, and strong, but Kel managed to block it. The upper block didn't even faze Taine; instead he delivered another blow just as strong as the first. Kel went from parry to block, parry to block, before she realized what he was doing. Taine wasn't giving her a chance to make her own attack; Kel had to make her own chance. She watched his style for a moment, before in between his lightning strikes, she slipped Hope out of the parry and quickly made a lung for his upper chest. Taine blocked it easily, but from his eyes, Kel knew that he was impressed that she had caught onto his meaning.

The duel didn't last long at all. Taine disarmed her in less than four minutes, but Kel knew that it didn't matter. Taine was an expert swordsman. His attacks were flawless and speedy, while Kel had only had a year or two of training. Still, Taine could see her talent, and he was sure that in time, he could turn Kel into and swordswoman with skills that surpassed his own.

Another thing Taine caught, and was sure that Kel didn't even realize, was that for the few minutes that they practiced duelled, Kel was smiling, and her eyes shone with an obvious love for what she was doing. That, above all else, told Taine what Kel was capable of.

* * *

They continued to train until Kel was sure that her arms would fall off if she stopped moving them. Taine on the other hand showed no signs of tiring, so Kel pushed her exhaustion to the back of her mind and kept going. She did push-ups, crunches, she ran, she jumped, she did more push-ups, she had a duel with Taine, and it never ended. The sun set, and they were engulfed in darkness, but Taine did not call the training to an end. The stars all came up, and when the moon was in the middle of the sky, Kel collapsed on the ground mid-push-up.

Taine calmly walked over to Kel, and knelt down on the ground beside her. Kel looked up at him tiredly. His face was expressionless, but his posture was relaxed and amused.

"I thought you'd never stop," he stated. Kel look at him in confusion, forcing Taine to explain his meaning. "To be a swordsmaster, you must know when to stop. I could tell a while ago that you were tired, but you kept going. You looked exhausted, but you kept going. If we had been working together for a long time, I would be congratulating you right now for keeping up with me. As it is our first time, you should have stopped before the sun went down. I will never tell you when it is time to stop; your body will tell you. Understand?"

Kel understood, and mentally slapped herself for not getting it earlier. Taine stood, and held out his hand to help Kel stand. She gratefully grabbed hold and let Taine take half of her body weight. He accompanied her back to the camp, and from there, he watched her stagger slowly back to her tent. Just as she was entering her tent, he opened his mouth.

"You'll still be getting up the same time as everybody else tomorrow." Kel nodded, and pulled the tent flap back, but Taine interrupted her once again. "And Kel," she turned to face him, "good work today." Kel was surprised by this, but nodded her thanks, then entered the tent.

As soon as she was out of sight, Taine's face broke out into a smile. Chuckling to himself, he strode back into the woods, leaving Kel to her exhausted sleep that he was sure not even nightmares could penetrate. He was right.

* * *

**Hey everybody! I apologize once again for not updating as quickly as I had promised; school has started up again, and that's always hectic.  
Check out my poll, or you can see what I imagined Ocean's Crown looks like on my profile.**

**Thanks to xxTunstall Chicxx for another great beta job!  
Disclaimer: I am not Tamora Pierce**

**Starmaker08**


	10. A Confession, and a Promise

A clump of grass flew into the air; the force of the foot that had kicked it sending it far from its original position. Neal glared at the offending piece of earth as if it was the reason for all of his problems in the world, then his eyes softened and he slowly fell to his knees.

Finally away from all of the prying eyes of his once beloved home, Neal was able to simply sit down and the horror of it all wash over him once again without the fear of someone finding and attempting to comfort him. He knew that his friends were likely feeling sadness as well, but Neal couldn't help but feel that their pain was nothing compared to what he was feeling. He had lost his best friend, his confidante; the person whom he knew would always have his back.

His father was always saying that 'time heals all wounds' and that everything would be alright in the end, but Neal couldn't see how, nor could he see that everyone around him was simply trying to help; that they didn't intend to seem clingy and over-protective of him. The only consolation he had was Roald. Whenever he was there, he didn't try to say anything, didn't try to make it seem like everything was alright, he was simply there; a constant, unwavering presence. But still, there was nothing like the comfort of your own thoughts and solitude.

Though he didn't let it show, Neal was actually quite worried about going back the castle to train; he didn't know if he would be able to look Lord Wyldon in the eye and not jump up to strangle him. Not to mention the fact that he would have to face the emptiness of Kel not being there, and to top it all off, Neal wasn't sure he wished to continue his dream of becoming a knight of the Crown for Queenscove.

He was struck out of his musings by a trembling of the ground. Startled, Neal squinted off into the distance and saw a lone horse and rider nearing closer and closer. Try as he might, he couldn't make out who it was or even their rank. But as the mysterious rider drew closer, Neal quickly figured out who it was.

He stood, fury flashed in his eyes while rage pumped through his veins. By the time that King Jonathan of Conté reached him, he was a hurricane of unpleasant feelings. The King slowed down, his eyes stuck on Neal. Jonathan hid his surprise from the sight in front of him. The boy that he had seen grow up over years of visits to the castle was gone. Instead, there was a young man with a gaunt face from lack of eating and eyes filled to the brim in anger.

Neal was also shocked; the King's face was worn and tired from sleepless nights and there was a longing stance in his posture... he had missed his family. But Neal quickly dismissed that small feeling of guilt and sympathy that was rising up in him and resumed to his more powerful and dangerous feelings.

After a moment, Jonathan quietly dismounted his horse and slowly and cautiously made his way over to Neal, as if approaching a wounded animal. Neal, for his part, stayed perfectly still until the King was standing right in front of him before making his move. With a glare that chilled Jonathon to the bone, he spoke.

"Why?" It was a simple question with so many different possible answers behind it and almost impossible to understand, but Jonathan easily grasped its real meaning. Sighing, he reached up and ran a hand through his already wind-mussed hair.

"I don't know," he confessed under his breath, Neal had to struggle to fully hear him. He continued to watch in shock as his ruler, dressed in ordinary clothes, sank down onto his knees in a position much like Neal had been in before. "I don't know."

* * *

The first thing Kel noticed when she woke up was that she was lying in a strange sort of large tent and that it sounded like she was outside. Jumping up, and managing to hit her head on the wooden pole that was keeping the tent up, she looked around in confusion. Then, she heard a bell loudly clang, and the memories of the previous day came back to her. Rubbing her aching head, Kel proceeded to stick her head out of the tent flap, and then followed it with the rest of her body.

As before, everyone else was already waking and getting out of their own tents and even though the sun was only just rising, their eyes were clear and sleep-free. One thing was different, however; none of them offered any gentle smiles or any kind looks. Instead, Kel received many expressions of confusion, and some of extreme dislike. For an instant, she was confused. But then she saw many people make a small half bow before they continued with their morning activities. Looking to where they were all making the gesture, she saw Taine walking into the camp.

Suddenly, the memories of the previous day came back to her, including the gruelling practice with Taine. Kel also realized why many people were angry at her. She though back to how Resh and Deni had acted yesterday when Taine had picked her as well as many other children to travel with them to learn more about their arts; how surprised they were that she knew Taine and that he had picked her when he had only known her for less than a day.

Kel quickly spotted Deni and Resh over on the edge of the camp. They, like everyone, were already getting started on the morning chores before breakfast. She made her way cautiously over to them (she worried that they might think the same thing), to figure out what her jobs would be for that day. Her worry was short lived.

When she reached them, they were both laughing as hard as the three of them had been the previous day. When they saw her, they didn't hesitate in including her in the joke.

"Kel," Resh gasped for breath between chuckles, "You should have seen Kaj's face! He was..." He kept laughing so hard that he wasn't able to finish his thought. Deni, a little better off than her best friend was, continued for him.

"Kaj was very angry when he found out that Lord Taine was training you, and was ranting about it to anyone who would listen," She explained to Kel, grinning the whole time. "The moment he stopped to take a breath, Resh put in his two cents." Deni let out a giggle, but at Kel's impatient look, she regained her composure and kept going.

"He walked right up to Kaj and said, with such a look of surprise on his face that even I believed him, 'You don't know, Kaj? Kel is a trained assassin! One of the best from Shang! My Lord asked her here to help train us, but he wanted to test out her skills first... I thought you knew; everyone else did.'"

Not able to hold out any longer, Deni joined Resh it laughing outrageously while Kel allowed herself only a small grin. But even that faded after a moment. Deni was the first to notice that their new friend wasn't laughing with them, and quickly calmed down, punching Resh gently in the shoulder to get him to do the same. Once they were both looking at her with no distractions, Kel opened her mouth.

"You guys don't mind?" She asked warily, watching their faces closely for any wrong emotion, "You guys aren't angry that I'm being trained by your Lord, or that I'm going to travel with the few of you?"

All three of them were quiet for a moment, and Kel kept a close watch on both of them, worried that she would lose the only friends she would probably make there. She need not have worried, however.

"I find it strange and confusing," Resh started out slowly, rolling the words around his mouth carefully before setting them loose, "but I wouldn't say that we're angry. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"Exactly," Deni put in, "we might not understand our Lord's reasons for letting you come, let alone for training you personally, but I'm happy that you're coming to travel with us. And I trust that you'll tell us in time what this is all about."

Resh nodded his head in solid agreement before his expression turned to one of apprehension. He looked at Kel closely before asking sceptically, "You're not really Shang, are you?"

After that, the morning passed quickly. One thing that she noticed, however, was that Taine was nowhere to be found. Brinan was overseeing and often helping in the work of the people, but not once did Kel see Taine during the morning work.

Lunch was a blur and before long, Kel was once again standing in the middle of the practice courts and watching both Deni and Resh running off to join their skill members, shouting goodbyes over their shoulders. The moment they were out of hearing range, Kel saw a dark shadow fall over her. Turning around, she was not in the least surprised to see Kaj standing there, his stance one of confidence and pride.

He looked down at her with an expression of mixed scorn, apprehension, and disbelief. He kept on looking at her, as if attempting to read her mind, or figure out her deepest darkest secrets. Finally, he appeared to have made a decision.

"You're no Shang," he stated rudely, "you probably can't even fight. THAT's why Lord Taine took you from practice courts, because he doesn't want to embarrass you," He gave a small smirk and without warning swung out his fist towards her face. Instantly, all of Kel's training from both the Yamani Isles and The Palace kicked in. With barely any visible difficulty, Kel ducked the punch and, anticipating the one that followed, neatly stopped it with her own hand.

Kaj's face rapidly turned a light red by having his attacks so easily stopped. Furiously, he lashed out;

"The only reason you're here is because you have nowhere else to go... who would want you anyways? You're probably your father's bastard."

To Kel, everything froze. Blood pumped in her ears and no amount of her calm facade could stop her from feeling her anger well up inside of her, and for the first time in a long time, she let that anger show in her actions.

Barely even registering what she was doing, Kel grabbed that hand that she had stopped and pulled it forward with a strength that surprised Kaj. Once he stumbled, off balance, she quickly swung her right leg in front of his, causing him to immediately trip and commence his fall. Before he could hit the ground, Kel flipped him over her hip so that he hit the ground with more force.

Kaj found himself on his back, with an aching pain spreading everywhere in his body like a wildfire without restraint. He was staring up, and could see Kel's face above him. Her face was completely devoid of emotion, except for her eyes, which held such a cold fury that sent chills down his spine.

Kel leaned down until she was closer to his face and so that he would be able to hear her clearly if she whispered.

"Never," she stated under her breath, "ever, insult my parents again or I swear upon the Mother Goddess that I will make you pay." Kaj gave a stuttering reply that Kel didn't even bother listening to. Standing up, she looked around and immediately, reality caught up with her. Everyone single pair of eyes in the practice courts was focused on her. Deni and Resh were there and were staring at her with both awe and some fear, as was everyone else.

Unclenching her fists which she hadn't even realized she had formed into fists, Kel took an unsteady step away from the young man lying on the ground in front of her. Conscious of the looks she was receiving, Kel felt the emotions welling up inside her become too much. With one last glance around the practice courts, Kel turned and ran into the woods which had become her sanctuary.

Arriving at the place where she and Taine had been the afternoon before, Kel leaned her back against one of the ancient trees and slowly slid to the ground. With no tears in her eyes, Kel covered her head with her arms and simply thought.

Unbeknownst to her, in the hollow log across the clearing where she and Taine has decided to stash their swords so that no one would know what they were doing, Hope's unearthly blue glow faded ever so slightly until there was nothing. But on the right side of the hilt, there was a marking that hadn't been there before. It was the mark of the Great Mother Goddess, but more importantly, it was the mark of her vow. Hope had heard its Master's promise, and so had the Goddess; both of them were ready to keep it.

Kel remained where she was until another shadow fell over her hunched form, but this shadow was familiar and she recognized it right away. Looking up, she was not at all surprised to see Taine standing over her. She was relieved to see that there was no judgment in his expression, nor did he seem angry at what she had done.

"Well," he started, breaking the comfortable silence that had grown between them, "that was interesting." Kel chuckled lowly before lapsing into silence once more. Taine sighed and sat down on the grass beside the young girl and tried to find the right words to say.

"It's impossible to remember the people you love who have passed each minute of every day," he stated finally, causing Kel to look at him in surprise. "We all forget sometimes, but then something happens that makes us suddenly remember and feel the pain." Taine was still staring into space in front of him, while Kel was looking at him closely, not sure if he was talking about her or himself. Quite suddenly, Taine turned his head around to face her, and he gave a small up-turning of his lips that made a sort of sad smile and said_, "Better by far, you should forget and smile than that you should remember and be sad."_ Kel tilted her head slightly to the right in the universal sign of slight confusion.

"That makes sense," she said slowly, "but sometimes it's so hard to just keep going like nothing has happened when so much has that it's changed your life forever." Taine nodded in understanding.

"It is," he agreed wholeheartedly. "I'm not saying that it's easy... it's not, it often feels impossible, but that's the fun part of it. You've got to keep at it." The two became silent while Taine let the young girl have a few more moments to grieve. He took a quick glance at her and was not at all surprised to see her eyes shining brightly with unshed tears. He could see quite clearly that Kel was trying hard to fight them, but nonetheless, one treacherous tear slid slowly down her cheek. Kel furiously raised her arm and attempted to brush the wetness away but stopped as Taine caught her wrist gently in his own hand. Surprised, Kel's head shot up to look at him and saw a sort of understanding taking over his features before he spoke

"It's all right to cry," He assured her quietly, "it doesn't mean you're weak, or that you're a silly little girl. It just shows that you're human." Kel gave a slightly watery chuckle before a few more tears fell from her eyes. Taine sighed loudly and lifted his hand in the air and gently placed it on Kel's shoulder in a silent comfort.

They sat like that for awhile more, Taine's strong hand resting reassuringly and comfortingly on Kel's small shoulder, letting her know that he was there. Finally, Kel's eyes were dry and had the usual determined, iron will shining through them. Taine saw this, and though there were still tear tracks glistening on her face, he knew that she was alright. Retracting his hand from her shoulder, he slapped his knees gently before getting up.

"Enough mourning and wallowing," he proclaimed, "are you ready to continue on with your training?" Kel stared up at him, squinting her eyes in an effort to block the sun from her eyes before she focused on Taine's hand that was being offered to her. Smiling slightly, she grasped the hand and allowed Taine to pull her easily up.

"Definitely," she said with a glint in her eyes. "Let's get all sweaty and dirty!" Taine gave a bark of laughter, his face actually contorting into a smile that for a moment left Kel staring at the sense of belonging that it had on his face.

"You asked for it," was all he said.

* * *

The sun was setting, and a fight of dominance broke out between the periwinkle blue of the day and the inky blue-black of the night, creating a mass of swirling pink, purple and orange all around the blood red sun. The clouds were retreating ever so slowly and the stars were beginning to show around the threads of the satin sky.

Far below, a lone figure moved silently across the darkening training field. The silhouette crept stealthily to the trees bordering the woods, turning her head swiftly to each direction every few feet before moving further and further into the shadowy forest. Suddenly, a crash shattered the growing silence, and the unknown figure slumped in defeat before hissing,

"You great, lumbering oaf! This was YOUR idea and yet you're going to get us caught!" She turned around to see the grinning face and sighed, knowing that she couldn't resist his puppy-eyes, and settled for simply hitting him roughly on the shoulder. "Just be quiet, Resh."

"That's why I brought you along, Den! You'll make up for my lack of knowledge with your amazing quiet skills!"

Deni turned and continued on her way, trying to ignore the continuous noises coming from her friend behind her. The two moved quickly through the woods until quite a different noise caught their ears. They both froze and turned all of their attention to listening. After a moment, they could tell what they were hearing.

"Voices," Deni whispered, her voice barely loud enough for Resh to hear, but he did.

"No, really? I had no idea, I actually though that it was a couple of lions having a-ow! Will you ever stop hitting me all the time?"

"SHHHH!" was the only reply that he received. Grumbling under his breath, he followed Deni as she dropped to her knees and commence crawling through bushes and past trees. It was not long before they could distinctly tell whose voices that they were, along with the sounds of metal hitting metal. But before they could even look into the clearing that was now before them, a rustling to their right alerted them to company.

The two friends both tensed, sure that they were about to get caught as a third figure emerged from the underbrush.

"Brinan?" They whisper-yelled together. The second in command of the camp started in surprise at seeing the two young campers in the same position that he was. However, he quickly hid his surprise and instead, with a twinkle in his eyes, raised a single finger to his lips in a gesture of silence before rising slowly so that his eyes could see over the bush that all three were hiding behind. Resh and Deni quickly mimicked his actions.

There, they watched in open mouthed and wide eyed shock as Kel collapsed to the ground. But instead of lying there, she raised herself on her arms alone and continued on until she was doing push-ups with determination and vigilance. There was a light sheen of sweat on her face and though she did not halt in her activities, her arms trembled a little bit with each surge of muscle demonstrated. Finally, she collapsed on the ground, exhausted and they heard a deep, gruff laugh which made them remember the other person in the clearing.

"What? Tired already? You were still going strong by this time last night." He chuckled, sure that she was worn out from last night and not wanting to repeat that experience. Kel rolled over so that she was on her back and looked up at her mentor, narrowing her eyes until she was looking at him with a fearsome scowl. It did not have her desired effect as Taine just gave a loud guffaw at her antics.

"Would you like to be doing all of this with me, then?" the young girl demanded, her face becoming a mask once more. Taine's smile faded too as he vehemently shook his head, causing Kel's lips to twitch with the desire to smile. They both looked at each other seriously until their straight faces crumbled and they dissolved into quiet laughter.

Brinan's eyes were wide with amazement as he watched his childhood best-friend smile and laugh like he hadn't in years. For the first time in a long time, Brinan saw Taine actually enjoy himself, be the real Taine instead of the serious leader of the camp. This was the Taine whom had not lost anything in the world, and seemed like he had nothing to lose. Brinan turned to look at the young girl who had so easily taken a place in Taine's carefully guarded heart and was showing him how to live again. As he watched the two enjoy themselves, he couldn't help but notice that Kel, too, looked different than she usually did. There was a certain light in her eyes that made her seem so much younger, so much more like the age that she really was.

Deni and Resh had both seen Kel laugh, but it was always light, and never had she laughed before the other two had—as if she wasn't sure how to do it on her own. The Kel that they saw before them was absolutely carefree and was lying on the grassy ground and seeing every little joy there was in the world... not to mention that the Lord Taine was there and chuckling wildly along with her.

There was something about the odd pair, the great Lord and the young girl, sharing a private joke together that made Resh want to jump in and join them. Resisting the urge to do so, Resh shifted from foot to foot for a quick moment before resuming his previous position. But his sudden changing of weight upon the forest floor was all it took to send a twig snapping, it's sound reverberating like a gong throughout the clearing.

Instantly, Brinan and Deni turned to glare at him with panicked eyes, sure that they were all going to get a very sound talking to from their Lord. But to their immense astonishment, neither Kel nor Taine jumped up and demanded that whoever was there come out. Instead, their laughter died down at quite a natural pace before their masks resumed for real. Turning to look at the exact location of the three eavesdroppers, he said calmly,

"Brinan, don't you have work to do? And you two should be in bed, Resh, Deni." Sheepishly, they stood up from their hiding places and saw that the people that they had though they had so fooled did not seem in the least alarmed, and they had known their names.

Shaking the feeling of being a schoolboy caught doing something he shouldn't have been, Brinan took the liberty of taking a look around the clearing that Taine and Kel had claimed as their own. Before, he had only been focusing on them, but now he could see weapons carefully leaning up against an old oak tree. Two gleaming swords were what caught his attention and he stared unabashedly at them, waiting for his friend to explain why they were there.

Knowing what his second in command wanted, Taine quietly went over to the blades and picked up both swords. He looked them both over, his sharp eyes searching for any serious mark of dent that would make them incompetent for any proper use. Once he was satisfied, he carelessly, or so it seemed to those watching, threw one of the swords to the right.

Deni and Resh gasped as the steel flew at a lightning pace past them and into the ready and waiting hand of Kel. Seeing their stunned expressions, Kel lightly flipped Hope over the back of her hand and caught it again in a move that she had mastered as a child. Then, in the same fluid motion, she sheathed her blade safely at her waist.

Brinan turned around to face Taine, who was watching with a slightly amused look on his face before he faced his long-time best friend and two of his campers.

"I trust that the three of you can keep a secret?"

* * *

**Hey everyone! I know, I know...it's been a long time. But, hopefully I've made it up to you with a long (long for me,) chapter.**

_"Better by far, you should forget and smile than that you should remember and be sad."_** Anyone who knows what this is from, review (please don't cheat and look it up on the internet!) and within the week I will give you a sneak peak of way into the future when Kel and Neal re-meet! Tempting? Uh-huh!**

**An amazing job by my beta, as usual. So a great big thanks to my spectacular beta, xxTunstall Chickxx! **

**Disclaimer: I am NOT Tamora Pierce.**

**xoxo  
Star**


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